cici at home

snow day

You know its going to be a good day when you wake up to snow *. Even if the grass is still poking through. Even if its already starting to melt. Those are details that don't matter when you are under the age of seven.

So outside play until you can't feel your fingers or your nose. And then inside for a warm bowl of Cream of Wheat. And then outside again when the huge white flakes start swirling from the sky. And then inside when your cheeks hurt too much from the whipping wind. And then outside...well, you get the picture.

Somehow, we found the time to bake a lot of bread. And then, just before dinner and while the bread was still warm, we delivered several loaves to the neighbors. Its not quite what Elizabeth of Hungary did  - none of my neighbors are sick or out of work - but I think the spirit of giving is there and I'm determined to do something similar to this more often. The appreciation of a simple loaf of homemade white bread was too much. I mean really. too. much. Clearly they need more baked goods in their lives.

**when i say its a good day when you wake up to snow, i mean to say "the first snow". i don't expect i will believe it is a good day when you wake up to snow in february or march or april and most certainly not may.

what a wonderful world...

...

I see skies of blue...clouds of white

bright blessed days...dark sacred nights

and I think to myself...what a wonderful world

Where did I read recently that happiness is a moral obligation?

I'm thinking through a few things, so there may be - will be(?) - a few (more) disjointed posts.  I think, though, that when I reach my destination...you'll find a give-a-way.  Come on, Who doesn't love a give-a-way?

Okay, I googled the phrase. I'm pretty sure I read it in someone else's comments on someone else's blog. It was Dennis Prager who wrote the original column, though.

me?

Jennifer at As Cozy as Spring passed the "I Love Your Blog" award onto me.  I'm humbled, really.  Jennifer's blog (a recent discovery for me) is a pleasurable balance of faith, humor, and art.  You should click over and have a bit of a read. 

It seems that I have to answer the following questions:

Where is your cell phone? charging
Where is dh? sleeping
Your hair color? brown
Your mother? too far away
Your father? quiet
Your favorite thing? Tim Horton's Double Double
Your dream last night? You have to sleep to dream, right?
Your dream/goal? to get a full night's sleep
The room you're in? the office (also a very funny tv show, by the way)
Your hobby? should read: hobbies. Too many. Often obsessive.
Your fear? loss (I snagged this from Jennifer. It's true, but I wouldn't have been able to articulate it)
Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? seemingly able to answer these questions with just one word
One of your wish list items? hard wood floors and a wood stove
Where you grew up? Washington
The last thing you did? put the baby toddler down for a nap
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV? off
Your pet? hyper dog
Your computer? dying
Your mood? irritated with the computer
Missing someone? my mom and my sister
Your car? white van
Something you're not wearing? my glasses
Favorite store? a quilt shop and yarn store in my former stomping grounds. An old barn filled with lots of fabric and yarn and lovely ladies - can get it much better? (yes it does! when my youngest was a baby-baby they would fight over him while I perused the fabric)
Your summer? always too short
Love someone? of course! many someone's!
Your favorite color? blue
When is the last time you laughed? just a few minutes ago
Last time you cried? Wednesday, describing the freedoms of this beautiful country to my daughter.

 

Now, for you recipients of this award, here’s the deal:
* Display your award. (i don't know how to do this)
* Link back to the person who gave you the award.
* Nominate at least 3 other blogs.
* Put links to those blogs on yours.
* Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.
* Enjoy your award!

 

These are always so hard for me - and not just because I can't seem to figure out how to copy and paste that little blog awardy thingy to this post - but because there are so many good blogs out there (you can look at my sidebard to see just a few!). How am I to pick just one?

 

So...I'm going to take the easy way out.  I'm going to say that this was a bit of fun and if you'd like to play along you should.  Is that okay?

busy little hands

My youngest, A, is 21 months and busy. And when I sy, "busy" I mean it as an understatement.  "Tornado" may be a better choice of words.

I know I'm not the first to deal with this, and most certainly am not the last.  Even so, this third - this busy - child has frequently been the wrench in many a planned projects. While I undo finger knitting yarn knots for the six year old, A is catapaulting himself off the couch. When I'm sitting on the couch, audience to intricate plots and storyboards and paper cut-out puppets, A is eating the markers, or climbing the counter, or hovering dangerously close to electrical outlets (studying the plugs, my friends, studying those plastic safety plugs), or helping himself to the pantry or...

Not today. Today I remembered the small cardboard box - still unpacked from the move and shoved on a top shelf - filled with small little jars, tiny spoons, and little trays.  The craft closet yielded the pony beads.  Armed with a project I believed would certainly entertain him only as long as it took to dump the bowls of beads onto the floor, I set the tray on the table and poured a handful of beads into one of the bowls. I had his attention! I showed him how to transfer those beads using one of the spoons and we were off! Ladies and gentlemen I had a full 1/2 hour to 45 minutes of time I was able to focus on the older two children and finally help them with a bit of handwork.

I'm sure he's just now old enough for something like this.  And I'm sure my sanity is better off for not having thought to try it sooner. But this  little bit of peaceful quiet work is so. very. welcome right now.

He is still under supervision for those concerned about the choking hazards pony beads offer.  But to tell you the truth, that's one of the only things - mouthing - I don't have to worry about with him.  I'm more watching for oh, I dunno, a stray bead to make its way into a nostril (a la my now 4 year old when he was just a bit older than A is now) - his own or the dogs. I'm sure he'll find an unusual way to surprise me.  But for now, he's busy. And happy.

Happily busy.

this is a love story

We were first introduced by Melissa Wiley of Bonny Glen fame.

See, for years I struggled with being "over organized."  I like to have everything in its place. A notebook for homeschooling, a notebook for gardening, a sketchbook.  You get the picture.  But then, I'm out and about and I don't have the correct spiral notebook with me.  So I make a sketch in the homeschooling notebook.  The horrors! Its out of place - the integrity of both notebooks destroyed. These things really bother me. Truly.

Binders don't work.  I mean, have you ever tried to pull out your binder and jot something down in it? It doesn't work, its not comfortable.  And binders are bulky. Moleskins? Never! The pages aren't movable. Too committed.

Enter, the Circa.  I bought the starter kit (junior size). Love it. The pages are movable, your can fold the cover back onto itself for ease of writing. It just doesn't get any better. Or more expensive frankly.  I like the fabric covers - but these pose a problem to me - they aren't washable. As in, toddler spills something - who am I kidding? - as in, spill my coffee on it and throw it in the wash washable.

That's where the scrap challenge comes in. Often little decisions can be quite debilitating to me. Questions like, "what colors to use when making a notebook cover?" can really throw me for a loop.  So when I signed up for the scrap challenge I knew I would use the scraps to make the cover for my new love.  First time, the linen turned wonky (yes, the linen turned wonky - it is most. definitely. not. my sewing capabilities. okay?)and it didn't lay flat around the cover.  Now, however, it sits wonderfully flat with nice little pockets on both inside flaps.

I found a way to make my sketchbook paper fit, too.  But that's for another post. All the organization in the world isn't actually going to sew those Christmas projects for me.